Some people argue that the sins listed in Lev. 18:6-24 are more vile than any other sins listed in the Old Testament because Lev. 20:1-27 lists the death penalty as the punishment for some of these sins. The death penalty mentioned in Lev. 20:1-27 seems like a fit punishment for some of the vices and not for others. As a guideline, sins in Lev. 20:1-27 that involve incest and worshipping other gods, which could also involve bestiality and necromancing (necromancing was often associated with "divine inspiration" from other spirits/gods) were to be punished with the death penalty. As previously discussed, the male homosexual acts mentioned in Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. and Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV. were associated with various pagan groups during their religious rituals. So, logically, it makes sense that the homosexual acts would be punished with the death penalty as well.
Yet, the list of Lev. 20:1-27 is not inclusive of all the sins that could be punishable by death. If a woman lied about her virginity (and she was always deemed guilty until proven innocent), she could be put to death (Deut. 22:20-21"But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst" Deut. 22:20-21 ESV.). A priest's daughter who was also a prostitute would be burned to death (Lev. 21:9"And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire" Lev. 21:9 ESV.). If a betrothed virgin was raped within the city,1 both she and her rapist would be put to death (Deut. 22:23-24"If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst" Deut. 22:23-24 ESV.). If someone used the Lord's name in vain, that person would be burned to death (Lev. 24:16"Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death" Lev. 24:16 ESV.). If anyone broke the holiness of the Sabbath, that person would be stoned to death (Exod. 31:14"You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people" Exod. 31:14 ESV.). This law was actually carried out in Num. 15:32-36"While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the LORD said to Moses, 'The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.' And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses" Num. 15:32-36 ESV. in which a man found gathering sticks on the Sabbath was stoned to death. Any people who weren't priests who wandered near the tabernacle while it was being moved would be put to death (Num. 1:51"When the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death" Num. 1:51 ESV.). Anyone who practiced magic would be put to death (Exod. 22:18"You shall not permit a sorceress to live" Exod. 22:18 ESV.). Hitting parents (Exod. 21:15"Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death" Exod. 21:15 ESV.), cursing parents (Exod. 21:17"Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death" Exod. 21:17 ESV. and Lev. 20:9"For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him" Lev. 20:9 ESV.), and being a stubborn and rebellious son would incur the death penalty (Deut. 21:18-21"If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear" Deut. 21:18-21 ESV.). Anyone who did not follow the verdict of a judge or priest would be put to death (Deut. 17:12"The man who acts presumptuously by not obeying the priest who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Israel" Deut. 17:12 ESV.).
As you can see from the above list, many crimes were deemed punishable by the death penalty, and sometimes the victim of the crime was punished by death as well! In fact, most of us would probably have to admit that we would have been put to death a long time ago for violating one of the vices listed above if we were still following Mosaic law perfectly.
In practice, however, it was rare for an Israelite to be put to death based on one of the crimes listed above or for one of the vices listed in Lev. 20:1-27. This was due to the rules of evidence that had to be met before someone could be put to death.2 For example, before someone could be put to death for violating one of the above crimes, at least two witnesses had to testify against that person.3 Of course, most of these crimes were committed in private and at night, so finding two witnesses would have been challenging.4 Moreover, women, minors, and slaves could not testify as witnesses.5 Thus, it was rare for a Jew to be put to death for violating a law listed above.
Nevertheless, as you can see from the list above, male homosexual acts were not any more evil than other vices that are mentioned in the Old Testament. Finally, we must remember that the purpose of the Mosaic law was to separate the Israelites from the surrounding pagans. Thus, the laws listed in the Torah must be followed as a whole, and not individually, if one desires to abide by the Mosaic law (see Lev. 20:26"If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:26 ESV.).
The male homosexual sin described in Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV. is considered a very serious sin in the Old Testament. The verse lies within Lev. 18:6-24, which lists sexually immoral sins. The passage that lists the consequences of committing the sins listed in Lev. 18:6-24 is the passage of Lev. 20:1-27. For many of the sins that are listed in Lev. 18:6-24, including the sin of a man sexually being with another man, Lev. 20:1-27 states that the punishment for those people who committed the sins was death.
Death is the ultimate punishment for any crime. Thus, Lev. 20:1-27 proves how repugnant and vile the immoral sins listed in Lev. 18:6-24 are against the Lord, which includes the sin of homosexuality (Lev. 18:22"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" Lev. 18:22 ESV.) that is punishable by death (Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV.).
1It was believed that a virgin who was raped within the city and who screamed for help would always be rescued (Deut. 22:24). Return
2Gordon & Rendsburg, 1997, p. 156 Return
3Gordon & Rendsburg, 1997, p. 156 Return
4Gordon & Rendsburg, 1997, p. 156-157 Return
5Gordon & Rendsburg, 1997, p. 157 Return
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